Topaz has 2 different recommended work flows for the editing process. For the 3 original apps (DeNoise, Sharpen, & Gigapixel) Topaz recommends that all the editing in other apps (i.e. Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.) be completed first, then use the 3 apps in the order shown above. For Photo AI, Topaz recommends that the unedited RAW file be uploaded first. Personally, I find that editing first works best most of the time with all the apps, especially when I have to make more adjustments that cannot be done in only one pass in the editors. What do others experience?
Sounds ok but I tend to do DeNoise first, after the Raw conversion or during the Raw conversion which is part of DxO Raw conversion. If I’m adding loads of layers with noise on them, maybe B&W, it could make it worse, not tested it but I think better to remove it first. One problem with AI it can do weird things, such as add colour artefacts to Black and White images. Sharpen and gigapixel before printing. You may need different sharpening for printing than web viewing. It may even depend which type of paper you use and size of print. I don’t use PAI for Raw, not enough control.
A common mistake I see, even on professional photographers images, is over sharpening, there are often halos around objects, this are easy to remove. It is probably because of using small jpegs.
